Rocket Lab’s upcoming launch will include a missile recovery trial

Plans Rocket Lab To take all necessary steps to recover one of its missiles After take-off, the company’s next launch into space, except for the final step of actually capturing the aircraft before it reaches the ocean, will put this test Rocket Lab On his path to rescue a missile with an oncoming flight so that it can be used again in a future mission.

According to the site “the limitThis step is part of our constant research Rocket Lab To see if the company can reuse its main missile, called Electron.

The company’s ultimate goal is similar to Goal SpaceX, Which recovers and reuses its missiles after flight, targeting a landing pad or autonomous unmanned ship in the ocean after takeoff.

The strategy, however, is Rocket Lab Retrieving his missiles is very different from the plan SpaceXAfter the company’s electronic rocket finishes its primary work in space, the aircraft capsizes and performs a controlled immersion in Earth’s atmosphere.

Indicate Rocket Lab Until the missile undergoes intense heating and accumulation of gas and plasma, it can easily destroy devices and, if an electron manages to pass, it is eventually deployed with a large main parachute and towed by a helicopter.

And plans Rocket Lab To do this on his next trip from the company’s launch facility in New Zealand in mid-November, except for the helicopter’s last moments, a boat will be exiting Rocket Lab To recover the missile and return it to the company’s facilities for testing.

As the goal of most reuse efforts, the idea is to save a missile Rocket Lab Instead of having to produce new missiles for each new launch.

The company says Rocket Lab The main driver is not necessarily the savings on production costs, but to get to the next launch of the company more quickly.